Legaceis
by Torracmir
Summary: If a change in the B5 time line occured 1000 years ago, what would be the difference


TITLE: Legacies  
  
Author: Cris Wilson.  
  
Season 1 -Episode 3   
  
RATING: None   
  
DATE FIRST POSTED: 5 May 2000   
  
DISCLAIMERS: Babylon 5 and all related material belong to JMS, Time-Warner and Babylonian Productions. Anything connected to THHGTTG belongs to DNA and anything else belongs to me.  
  
AUTHOR NOTES (if any) NOTES: Most AU B5 stories deal with the aftermath of the Minbari winning the war at The Battle of the Line, but what if a change in the time line occurred a thousand years ago. This is what I think may have happened if such a thing did happen, and how the future history of the B5 universe was changed and yet somehow not changed!  
  
Since these stories are set in another dimension I'm only narrating the changes. To understand the stories better you have to watch the episode in question than see my stories as overlays. So whatever is going on in the backdrop of the story even if it doesn't get a mention is still going on in the background.   
  
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Douglas Adams "There is a theory which states that if ever anybody discovers exactly what the Universe is for and why it is here, it will instantly disappear and be replaced by something even more bizarre and inexplicable. There is another theory which states that this has already happened."   
  
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Legacies.  
  
  
Opening narrative (spoken) by Lieutenant Commander Jeffrey Sinclair.  
  
  
It was the dawn of the third age of man. Ten years after the Earth- Minbari war. The Babylon Project was a dream given form.   
  
Its goal was to be a place where Humans and Aliens could work out their differences peacefully.   
  
A port of call, all the way from home. For diplomats, hustlers, wanderers, traders and Space Command. Humans and Aliens wrapped up in eight miles of floating ship, all alone in the night.   
  
It can be a dangerous place, but it was our last best hope for peace.   
  
This is the story of the Greatest of these stations, and the people whose lives were shaped by it.  
  
  
The name of the place was Britannia 7  
  
  
  
Part One  
  
Doctor Franklin sighed shook his head, and walked away from the Iso-unit. It was no good; whatever had happened to the station telepath, Lyta Alexander, had sent her mad. She had been found near the Alien sector screaming her head off, thrashing around and suffering fits of hysteria. When security had bought her in Franklin had had to sedate her - and restrain her, the fits having eventually turned too incoherent babbling. After a while the women had stopped even that, and now seemed in a trance.  
  
At least this time Ashe had finally seen the light and given Franklin some drugs which seemed to help, but that was it. He still couldn't seem to get Ashe to work with him. He had thought that being a Doctor herself, Vivian Ashe would have been happy to swap ideas and information with him, but she had stonewalled him on that point right from the start.  
  
Lyta couldn't get the feeling of loathing out of her mind; the Streeebe had seemed to enter places where no one had ever been before. It had twisted a telepathic knife around and left its mark. At first, sleep had eluded her, and finally she was able to sleep the nightmare contained the Streeebe's image. She could see the Streeebe, feel the Streeebe; even now she could sense the Streeebe on the station.  
  
Even looking directly into the face of a Vorlon hadn't removed the Streeebe's loathing. Yet she couldn't get over the feeling the Vorlon seemed to be waiting for her. Somehow she couldn't shake off the feeling that she had to go to the Vorlon homeworld, but how?  
  
The drugs had helped, but not as much as Franklin wanted, not with his limited knowledge of the way the telepathic mind worked. At least Psi Corp was coming to pick her up, and take her to somewhere where they said they could help. It wasn't an arrangement the human doctor was happy with, but it seemed the lesser of two evils.  
  
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Sinclair paused for a moment, his eyes resting on the woman who had requested to see him, why he didn't know, but he was sure he'd seen her before. He had been about to start his shift when he'd received a message from the IG section stating that someone wanted to see him in the garden. After being given the person's name, he then used his watch direction finder to locate the woman in question. "Ms Richards you asked to see me?" He went on, "I've often seen you gazing at the waterfall since you came out of hospital." Which was true, he thought. "I hope you're feeling better?"  
  
If she cut her hair short and died it blonde she would look like Corinth Richards Sinclair decided, when the woman turned her head and looked directly at him. She even smiled it seemed in exactly the same way as the Squadron Leader had once smiled.  
  
"Much better now Commander Sinclair. But you must call me Sphere, everyone else does including Corinth, besides which I'm not married." She patted the bench gesturing him to sit next to her. From the affectionate way she spoke, it seemed she was related to Corinth, which might explain the similarities Sinclair surmised. Politely nodding and sitting down by the woman's side, he relaxed a little by stretching his long limbs out.  
  
"Do you see the way the water falls over the rocks," Sphere began, returning her gaze to the water cascading down over the rocks. "Each drop falling in a slightly different place t'the last, but not quite the same shape or size. We believe the Universe plays the same story over and over again, in different universes or dimensions, call them what you may. Each has a knock on effect t'the rest. It is said that ghosts and visions are formed when the fabric of these universes becomes transparent, and that ghosts are the past and visions are the future."  
  
The woman looked at Sinclair, her soft blue/green eyes seemed to gaze into his mind. "I hear you've become interested in the Minbari culture and that Delenn is teaching you the dialect used by the religious caste." The human nodded almost hypnotised by the way the woman was speaking. "I am touched by the gift of vision," she paused for a moment. "I can see you are a very spiritual man beneath your cool exterior. I can also sense it would be in your best interest t'learn Torrac's language, as old and archaic as it is, it is still a very descriptive language. One that befits the soul of one like yourself."  
  
"And will you teach me Torrac's language?" Sinclair inquired, deciding the woman believed in everything she was saying.  
  
"No it's not my place t'teach you." She paused again and smiled broadly. "The One who taught is the One who sought, is the One who knows well the One. I'm sorry," she began to laugh, "its an old Minbari saying." Sphere stood up and looked down on him looking once again like Corinth. "If you ask Commander Meredith, she will teach you."  
  
"Are you sure about that?"  
  
"Oh yes I'm sure of this. It is your Is'til'za, Jeffrey Sinclair. Nothing more, nothing less, but your very own Is'til'za!"  
  
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The Streeebe had waited patiently for the ship from its homeworld to dock, when its companions had cleared customs it greeted them, and led them to its own quarters. On the way they bumped into Garibaldi.  
  
"Hello Mr Garibaldi, I would like you to meet Francis and Todd," Fred explained in its strange male/female voice.  
  
The Human found himself shaking hands with Francis, feeling the now familiar static electric shock. "I am glad to meet you Mr Garibaldi," Francis stated, smiling knowingly. This Streeebe appeared to be female like Fred, but unlike Fred this one was of medium build and a little on the cubby side. It had the same familiar black eyes as Fred, but Francis's hair was cropped short, coloured bright red and a French Platt seemed to emerge from its head. The other noticeable thing about the Streeebe was its voice; it was softer than Fred's, varying in tone more often in each sentence.  
  
As for Todd, it looked more like a male, but one who was appeared to be in need of a decent meal inside him, in fact it could have early won a Mr Puniverse competition hands down. He was small, only a little taller than Fred, with a riot of blond curly hair and introduced itself in what sounded like a Welsh accent!  
  
"I hope you enjoy your stay on Tannia 7," Garibaldi said, trying to extract his hand from Todd's bony hand. For someone as weedy as the Streeebe looked it was stronger than it seemed!  
  
"I hope we have a very productive stay," Francis nodded, "I would not normally be here, but I have my reasons."  
  
The others nodded and Fred began to move away, Garibaldi got the hint and let them go. "Everyone has their reasons for coming to Tannia 7 it seems," he mumbled to himself, "and if I knew what they were, I'd be a very rich man."  
  
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Susan Ivanova made her way though customs into the arrival lounge and waited as she'd been told. Her posting order had come though three weeks earlier, her brief was to work with a Colithian officer and she'd be met when she got there, so now she waited.  
  
Appleton searched the crowd, trying to remember what his new opposite number looked like. The original photograph had shown a remarkably beautiful young woman, and he had wondered just how true it was. He glanced at the photo again then at the person he thought she was. Swallowing hard he moved forward. "Lieutenant Commander Susan Ivanova?" he asked tentatively.  
  
Susan had seen the man walking towards her, and it gave her time to study him. He was tall, and broad, fair haired and blue eyed. But what made Ivanova smile was the man's moustache. It was huge and looked like he had a pair of wings attached to his top lip. It was, the woman guessed, a prime example of something called a 'handlebar', something she'd been warned not to laugh at. When the man spoke to her she had managed to suppress her giggles.  
  
The woman nodded. "Yes that's me."  
  
The man smiled with relief; delighted he'd made the right choice. "Group Captain Craig Appleton," he replied. "I'm going to be working with you." He glanced around before carrying on." Look I've had your bags transferred to your quarters. I hope you like them. I gather you'll be tired, or would you like a drink first?" He stumbled over the words.  
  
Susan Ivanova decided to put the man at ease. "Yes I guess I could do with a drink, a vodka-- I'm a Russian, Russians drink Vodka," she explained, seeing the puzzled look on the man's face. "What do Colithians drink a lot of?"  
  
"Tea mostly and beer," Appleton added hastily, while guiding the woman towards a lift. As it set off he went on, "You and Catherine Meredith will get on well then."  
  
"How do you know? I mean we've not met yet." The door opened and they exited.  
  
"You're a Russian, so's our Commander." The man broke into a smile. "Always rushin here, rushin there! Sorry bad joke, you get used to them after awhile."  
  
Appleton turned and pushed a door open. The sound and smells of a bar hit Ivanova full in the face. "What's this place?" she asked, following the Colithian to a table.  
  
"The Kendalian, one of our watering holes. You'll find the Earthforce bar's called Earharts, named after a woman pilot who bought it." He gestured to her to sit down, went to the bar, ordered drinks, nodded to Jim Braithwaite knocking back a pint of beer, then returned to the table with a tray in his hand.  
  
Susan glanced at the bottle he sat before her. It was Absolut Vodka. "God I didn't know you could get this here!" she said in astonishment.  
  
"We don't believe in roughing it you know!" Appleton exclaimed taking a mouthful of beer then having to wipe the froth from his 'tache.  
  
"You said she'd bought it, I'd like to meet the owner, if that's possible," the Russian woman said, filling her glass before swallowing the lot in one go. She felt it bite into the back of her throat and gasped. This was very good vodka, very good vodka indeed.  
  
"Sorry that's not possible see. She's keeled over, croaked, popped her clog's," he looked at Susan's blank face, "Died!" he finally suggested.  
  
Susan Ivanova nodded in understanding while filling her glass again and decided she was going to have to see if she could get a Colithian phrasebook, if this was an example of how they spoke. Still this was good vodka and Appleton seemed to be in no rush to finish his beer, so she decided to put up with the situation and ask a few more questions.  
  
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"This is not a space station as such, we do have a separate control area for each section, it's just the main one monitors and controls the rest of the ship," Appleton explained later as they made their way to the Control room. "It's not a command and control room as your would know it. The Control room does just that, control the ship's functions, both internal and ex. We can easily patch into the Ops room and the defence grid. In fact the three sections are designed t'work together. But then you have t'remember that the ship was designed as a mobile command centre.  
  
It's just such a big job I need help with it. Normally the Group and I would work opposite shifts, but with the Commander having to cope with so many other things, it's getting difficult for her. You should have been my replacement but that idea was officially scrapped by Command last week. Seems we're t'work together as a team, which should be fun."  
  
So what's the ship run on, I mean what powers it?" Susan inquired, still absorbing her new surrounding. As they walked though the garden, her attention was drawn to the tree, and behind it by the far wall a structure was being built. It was covered with scaffolding, and what appeared to be lots of Minbari milling around it.   
  
"The ship is designed t'run off cold fusion at the moment, but we're still working on the Infinite improbability drive, with its finite impossibility."  
  
Ivanova turned the thought over in her mind and it then dawned on her that the Colithian was cracking a joke; she smiled respectfully and began to think all Colithians were a pain in the butt. As a young officer she'd met some during the Trade war. Two things had stuck in her mind, the amount of dirty jokes they could read into a normal conversation, and the fact they never seemed to shut up!  
  
Cath Meredith was elsewhere but Tom Harrington greeted her and shared a coffee before being dragged away to sort out a Centauri - Narn argument. He did however suggest she meet Garibaldi. So leaving Appleton at his post, the two of them headed to where the fight was.  
  
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"Summoned I come.  
In Valen's name I take the place prepared for me.  
I stand between the candle and the star. I am grey.  
  
We are grey.  
We stand between the candle and the star.   
We stand between the darkness and the light."  
  
Once the incantation was over Delenn took her place in the circle of light, which was hers by right of being a Sati. "Why have I been sent for, what is so important that I was called away from Tannia 7?" She asked the seven hooded figures standing in their own circles of light, she noted one of the nine was missing and it was easy to work out it was the worker Natel.  
  
Natel was a tall Minbari even as Minbari went, and she was Delenn's closest friend. Though not a religious, she had taken the young acolyte under her wing and guided Delenn through the preparations to become a Sati. Natel wasn't just a Sati though; she was also a clan and caste leader. This expertise was something she often used to temper the wilder elements of the Warrior Caste in the council. Natel had been a voice shouting out against war with the Humans after the Prometheus incident, she had believed the incident to be an accident. But as the Grey Council had given orders to wipe the humans out she'd no choice but to fulfil her job and had set about getting the resources together to fight them.  
  
Delenn had never seen so much such sadness and despair, as she did on the day Natel had ordered her Caste to war. The Worker never spoke directly to the tiny Minbari again except at council meeting and, as Delenn began to discover the true horror of what she'd started, Natel had reminded her of Torrac's words to Valen about having, "to pick up the pieces and rebuild all what was destroyed." That was the point when Delenn began to appreciate the feeling going through Natel's mind.  
  
Then on the Day the Earth/Minbari War had ended, Natel offered Delenn the hand of friendship again. They'd sealed their friendship with the Renewal Ceremony and now Delenn wanted her friend's support and missed her.  
  
Jenimer the Chosen One moved into the centre of the circle, gesturing her to his side, respectfully the tiny Minbari did as she was told. The old Minbari held out a piece of paper. Delenn took it, noting from the colour and texture it was made of old paper. She began to read the letter, her amazement growing by the minute "This cannot be, it must be a trick of some kind!" she exclaimed.  
  
"It is in Valen's hand writing, and on the paper he used," The Chosen One pointed out. "And it came as a package. In the package was a small black box which we have tried to open, but could not. And another letter explaining the ceremony Meredith must go though, it is a hybrid of 'the acceptance of clan and adoption by Caste' ceremonies. It appears Valen wishes her to adopted as a Minbari and respected as one."  
  
"No. We cannot go though with it. She is a Colithian and Deathbringer's child as well!" It was Kiayan of the Warrior Caste who spoke.  
  
Delenn re-read the letter and pondered on its meaning. For years she'd studied Valen's prophecies and now she remembered the vision that Cath, when she was alone and dying had received a few months earlier. Somehow she decided, they must be related. "We have all studied Valen's prophecies," the tiny Minbari pointed out, "and he said we must look out for the signs of his return. If it is true that Valen was a Minbari not born of Minbari, then could it be a sign of his return, allowing someone not Minbari into the clan of Mir?"  
  
"But if you are speaking the truth, why Deathbringer's Child?"  
  
"The title you give the Group Captain is the one the Marach gave her father. You shame us by calling her that." Delenn's voice held a hint of anger at the other Sati's words. "As for what she did in the Time of Madness, how did you expect her to react? The berserker within her was awoken the day she witnessed the death of the young Sire. And we are as much to blame in starting that war as the Colithian's were at continuing it." She paused for a moment, giving the rest of the Council time to digest her words before she took another breath and continued.  
  
"As for Valen's choice, Catherine Meredith's belief in him is as strong as any Minbari, maybe stronger even, her people haven't wavered from his thoughts and writings in a thousand years. You know their own prophet Elizabeth backs those words up. Yes Cath is a warrior, but her faith is strong and she is a worker like all Colithians. Did he not say, 'You will not recognise me, I will be different. Like male is to female, like old is to young!' Is it so strange that Valen should send someone like her to precede him, to become a Minbari not born of Minbari?" Delenn finished looking defiantly at anyone who dared to glance at her.  
  
"Are you saying we should let it happen?"  
  
"I'm saying that a thousand years ago Valen found a way to speak to us. He created the Watchers to guard his letters and give them to us, as and when he saw fit. Once again he has spoken to us. If we are to believe in Valen, then we must believe in what he wrote in this letter. If we regard this letter as a sham, then is everything about Valen a sham, and is our belief in him the same?"  
  
The council moved together, leaving Delenn standing by herself in the centre of the room. After a moment she continued. "Valen asks us to allow Catherine Meredith into the clan of Mir. He even gives us her name, and tells us that she commands a ship as big as his 'Gift'. What other proof do you need? This is Valen's word. What else is needed?"  
  
Jenimer moved to the centre of the circle, while the rest of the council returned to their allotted places. The Chosen One spoke softly, but his words were to place another piece in the jigsaw of destiny. "We will fulfil Valen words. We will let Catherine Meredith into Torrac's Clan. Delenn will guide her and teach her about her new role in life, and if we are wrong then when Valen returns to us, he can do what he likes with her."  
  
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Legacies.  
  
Part Two  
  
The two religious Sati walked side by side towards the bay where Delenn's ship was situated. "The aide with the talent you said you required has been found, he will join you in a few weeks time."  
  
Delenn nodded, "Then I will be able to find out what is going on."  
  
"You think the Colithians are plotting something?"  
  
"I don't know, they often revert to Torrac's dialect when I'm around, it may be my imagination, but I sense that Cath is carrying Harrington more than she will admit. I'm not saying the Human isn't up to the task, but there are others on the station who are better suited to the job."  
  
"Then I hope you can unravel the mystery, if there is one."  
  
"Beside which I have a lot to do when I get back. The adoption ceremony Cath must go through will take a while to set up. I will offer myself as her friend. I wonder who she will ask to be her companion?" Delenn sighed. "You have changed Callonn. You were once my greatest critic, now you seem changed," Delenn pointed out.  
  
"We all change Delenn. I wouldn't be surprised if Deathbringer's child is no longer the berserker she once was."  
  
"No, she regrets everything she did, it haunts her dreams and shapes her thoughts."  
  
They continued to talk as they moved towards the hanger. Callonn stopped and pulled a small package from a pocket in his robe. "Take this Delenn, I think you may need it more than we do."  
  
Opening up the package Delenn gasped at its contents. "A triluminary, will it be not be missed? "  
  
"If you're right, then it has a great use in the fact it will show us Valen. After all did he not say, 'I will walk amongst you, but you must to seek me out!' If you are wrong then it can be returned and we will wait a little longer. Either way the signs and portents are all around us, showing us the fulfilment of prophecy, and if the Group Captain is the One, then so be it. Many will not like it but obedience is all, understanding is not necessary."  
  
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Far away in one of Britannia 7's observation domes Cath Meredith was pondering on that very fact. As a child she had spent many hours here thinking things through, trying to discover the question to the answer of life, universe, and everything, and Thomas Harrington was one of them.  
  
Like all her people she was aware of the reason the Earth Alliance was offered Britannia 7, and like everyone else was glad that in the process the Marach were denied a seat on the Advisory council. But why did her government insist on Harrington as the Commander, when there were a lot of other of people on the ship, no correction, station, who were better suited to the job. Jeffrey Sinclair being a prime example.   
  
It wasn't Harrington's fault, but being stuck in a Martian backwater because of his principles hadn't helped his career much. Though to his credit he was a quick learner, and thanks to his relationship with Corinth he was at least able to understand her people, but she could think of a hundred and one other reasons for choosing someone like Sinclair.  
  
Jeffery Sinclair. She sighed. Now there was a man whose company she enjoyed, even if his jokes were so dry she often had to go away and think about them. She was glad she'd shown him how to fly a Harrier. He was good and it wasn't often she had someone that good to pit her wits against. She sat and waited in silence looking at the stars and thinking about life.  
  
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Sinclair climbed the stairs up to one of the old observation domes in what had once been designated Tannia 4. For a moment he couldn't see anything. The dome was designed to observe the sky so there was little illumination. Then looking out of the corner of his eye he saw what he was after.  
  
His conversation with Sphere Richards had nagged at him all day. In the end he'd decided to speak to the Group Captain herself, but tracking her down was another matter. Finally he called control and was informed by Craig Appleton she was in the observation dome. Using his direction finder he found himself in a part of the station he'd never seen before. It was strange finding these odd spots, which often made him wonder who was the last person that had walked this way, and when? Once these had been thriving areas of the ship, now abandoned to normal life. The echoes of the past were all around him, or in this case Cath's voice reaching him from where she was sitting.  
  
"When I was a child of eight, the Marach were doing what you would call stealth attacks. On one occasion I was sat here and ignored the warning to get to safety. I watched our planes scramble and witnessed a dogfight right outside the window. I watched one of our planes take a direct hit and the pilot was flung out, and his body flew in one direction, and his helmet flew in another. I remember his body hitting the dome's window--- The strange thing is I never found it frightening," she hesitated for a moment. "In fact that was the point that I decided t'become a pilot.   
  
After it was over," Cath went on, "my father couldn't find me in my designated safe place, and he came looking for me. In the end he found me here, but while he must have been worried for my safety and angry that I'd disobeyed orders he never shouted at me. He simply said, "We glamorise war t'survive, if we create despair we loose." The woman stopped speaking for a moment as if weighing up what she'd just said. "In all the years I've flown into battle, I never forgot his words, but it's so true."   
  
Sinclair moved to her side and sat down. Cath looked at him the light catching her eyes. "Anyway what brings you to seek me out?"  
  
"You were expecting me!" It was a statement more than a question.  
  
"Craig told me. If you couldn't find me using your direction finder, then I think you need t'have it checked out, sounds like it's malfunctioning."  
  
"Or maybe I haven't got the hang of it yet."  
  
"Possibly," she nodded slightly. "But I think you're more intelligent than that."  
  
"I had a strange conversation with a lady called Sphere Richards today. She suggested I learn to speak Torrac's language and that you were to teach me but - well, I thought I'd ask your opinion of Sphere. She seems a bit - well- strange!"  
  
"I'm reliably informed that Sphere is a very gifted Mayji. If she suggests anything I'd recommend you follow her advice,"  
  
"Have you known her long then?"  
  
"I only met Sphere a few weeks ago, it's her sister Corinth I know better. We served three tours of the platforms together amongst other posting. Corinth and I parted on a misunderstanding, but that's in the past. If Sphere says I'm t'teach you, I may as well start now. One thing though Jeff, be very careful how you pronounce my name in Minbari."  
  
"How so?"  
  
"My father had other things on his mind when he named me. Cath'ha'hean is in actuality a swear word, too complicated to precisely explain verbally, but if you ask your computer it will tell you. Our most sacred word is Is'til'za. It means future-destiny, and the Minbari only ever use the word Istil'za, which simply means the future. Ours is the older word which is why the definition is different."  
  
"That's the word Sphere said to me as she walked away!" Sinclair exclaimed.  
  
"Valen shan taa!" he heard Cath gasp as a jump gate opened in space and a large ship slipped into view. With it were a number of smaller ships, each diving towards Tannia 7. Cath had already begun to move. As she ran towards the stairs she was already issuing orders.  
  
"Defence unit on. Defence grid up, Matrix on line." From the bowels of the ship a siren began to sound.  
  
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Harrington woke up suddenly, Corinth moved even faster. Harrington shouted for the lights and nothing happened. Corinth, guessing the emergency defence program had clicked in and all available energy was being diverted to the defence grid, reached up and found the light cord. She tugged on it and winced as the lights came on.  
  
The couple jumped out of bed, dragging clothes on and cursing at the same time. Corinth knew that in the next half-hour a migraine would strike again, and it would be a stinker of a one as well. Grabbing their communicators and wishing each other luck, they both ran out and headed for their stations, Harrington to the Ops room, the woman to security.  
  
Outside the small attackers slipped down the length of the ship, firing randomly, the automatic guns taking over, locking on the attackers and firing, hitting one and damaging another. The gapping holes created in the station's side seemed to fix themselves within moments, but the debris around the ship hinted of the devastation within.  
  
Ashe was already making her way to the main Medical Centre, Franklin grabbed at the chance to follow her there. In the midst of an emergency maybe, just maybe, they could work together. He hoped so at least!  
  
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"Scramble all squadrons--" Cath shouted into a Com unit situated on the wall.  
  
As the ship rocked slightly Sinclair grabbed her spinning her around. "When did they last attack like this?" he asked urgently.  
  
The Group Captain stopped in mid sentence, Sinclair's words sinking into her brain. Suddenly her eyes lit up with understanding. "They're testing our defences," she breathed. "Scramble only squadrons 23 and 35. If it opens another jump gate let it go," she screamed.  
  
Sinclair nodded in agreement then ran after the already fast moving Colithian. "Cath stop please." Cath stopped turned to face the Human and cocked her head to one side and said impatiently, "Yes?"  
  
"Look, this may sound stupid but you've only trained as a fighter pilot. I think I have more experience in dealing with this kind of situation." Sinclair was almost pleading. "Let me sort this problem out. Until Zeta squadron arrives in a few months time I'm kinda redundant."  
  
Cath thought for a moment and knew her friend was right. Sinclair did have more experience and probably could easily deal with the raiders. After all it was dealing with things outside the norm that ended up with him meeting Garibaldi. Happy to let someone with more experience deal with the situation she nodded. "One thing though Jeff, if you're going to put on a show, then promise you'll let me in on the action."  
  
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Moving though the door and into the Medical Centre, Franklin was met with the familiar sound of pain, orders being shouted out, and machinery being operated. At the far end of the room he heard Ashe's voice calling out for drugs and blood plasma.  
  
As he moved towards Ashe's side, Franklin saw the patient she was dealing with had a leg missing just below the knee. His curiosity getting the better of him, he moved opposite the Colithian and watched, fascinated by the long instrument the Doctor was using to seal not only the arteries, it even seemed to be sealing the bone as well!  
  
"Hold this for me!" she thrust the long instrument into Franklin's hands, as she turned away to pick something else up, she caught site of a black hand. Looking directly at the human, the anger clearly showing on her face, she grabbed the instrument out of his hand, and shouted loud enough for everyone in the room could hear.  
  
"Get out of MY Medical Centre. Haven't YOU got any human patients to deal with?"  
  
The venom in the woman's voice forced Franklin to retreat, but as he walked away he suddenly understood what was wrong with the doctor. After he had graduated, he'd decided to explore the universe, offering his skills in exchange for a free passage. On one such trip he'd been stonewalled there as well, the reason he suspected was the same for the Colithian.  
  
Franklin suspected that Ashe somehow thought that he was after her job! This would explain why she was acting the way she was. Of course, that was it, the medical centre conversion program was well under way. With each conversion Ashe was seeing her own medical facilities being removed and replaced with something she regarded as primitive.  
  
Well at least he could put a stop to that, no matter what Earth Central insisted. If it would help get to know the Colithian Doctor better well so be it.  
  
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Sinclair had one last job to do before he went to bed, check up on some paperwork in his office. The Human decided to make his way though the garden. Maybe he might even see Delenn if she was back.  
  
Standing in front the Zen Garden he pondered on Delenn's words before turning and walking towards the exit. Sinclair hadn't seen the Streeebe Francis, but Francis had seen him and watched him walk away. Fred it seemed had been right. Sinclair did remind the Streeebe of Valen, which meant that Francis was going to have to introduce its self to the Human.  
  
"Commander Sinclair!" A voice echoed down the corridor in Sinclair's direction. The human turned instinctively, used to the Colithians only calling him by part of his rank. He was surprised to see a Streeebe he'd never seen before moving towards him, it's hand held out in greeting. "My name is Francis," it explained. "I thought I'd would introduce myself. We could be seeing a lot of each other in the future."  
  
Sinclair braced himself for the static shock sensation and took the Streeebe's hand. He felt the sensation sweep over his body and suddenly felt sick and dizzy.  
  
The Streeebe used the moment of contact to sweep into the human's mind, and into his soul. It sought out and found what it needed, than left Sinclair's mind, leaving no trace of having ever entered.  
  
"I'm sorry!" Sinclair apologised rubbing his temple and wondering if he was ill.  
  
"You are tired Commander, you need sleep. Sleep is good for the mind, it helps you to understand the world we live in."  
  
The Human agreed. He had been pushing himself a bit too far these last few weeks, and he had said to Cath that he'd try and sort out the Raider problem. Sinclair decided that for once getting some sleep was more important than the paperwork, which could be sorted out tomorrow. He excused himself from the Streeebe's presence and headed towards his own quarters.  
  
As Sinclair walked away the Streeebe looked perplexed. Sinclair wasn't Valen and yet in away he was. Once along time ago, Francis had entered Valen's mind and Sinclair's memory was also in Valen's mind, but in Sinclair's there was no trace of Valen, not even a 'past life' memory, like the interesting one that Cath possessed. Fred was right. Sinclair did act, talk and seem to be Valen, but in his soul there was no trace of Valen, which should have been there if this man was Valen re-born. This strange alien decided this was going to need more investigation. Maybe another visit to the Vorlons, who it began to suspect, was behind this situation.  
  
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"You understand I will have to confirm this with GCHQ. With the implications involved it may even have to be referred to Elizabeth," the Group Captain pointed out after Delenn had returned and told her of Valen's wishes. Her initial reaction had been surprise, then reverence when she read the initial letter.  
  
"He wishes to give you the title of 'Van'torlaac', "Delenn had explained to the over-awed Colithian.  
  
"Chosen of Valen," Cath breathed, the respect clearly showing in her voice.  
  
"Is that what it means!" Delenn exclaimed.  
  
"Well it is in Torrac's dialect," Cath explained. "It's another way of saying Valen's Shadow. I don't know what it means otherwise."  
  
"And he has another gift for you, a box but no-one knows what's inside it. We couldn't find a way to open it," Delenn explained, handing a small box to the Group Captain. Cath threw her a, 'so you've tried have you', look.  
  
"Accept the gift and contact Command if you must, but let us have the answer soon, because we need time to sort out the ceremony. One last thing Commander, if you agree with Valen's wishes you will need two others to help you. I offer myself as your friend, to help you though the ceremony. But you will need to choose a Companion, someone who will help you through the preparation time. Choose well Catherine." With that the Minbari bowed and left leaving the Colithian on her own to think things over.  
  
When Delenn had left, Cath sat down and studied the box. It was small, black and smooth. Picking it up the Colithian found herself automatically seeking out the catch, and the box lid flipped open to reveal a small crystal set on silver mount on a silver chain. Cath reached into the box, touched the crystal and it glowed brightly. Surprised Cath removed her hand and the glow died!  
  
Puzzled the woman picked the pendent up. As she held it in her hand it glowed again. After she had fixed the clasp she glanced at the box and noticed a piece of paper tucked into the lid. Picking the paper up and opening it she was surprised to see a message written in English. The words seemed to creep into her soul and wrap themselves around it.  
  
From a thousand years ago, Valen had found a way to speak to the Minbari and to her personally it seemed. The words she committed to memory, but the reason for the gift eluded her.  
  
She touched the pendent and re-read the message. She'd tell the tiny Minbari what its contents were later, but for the moment she just smiled at the words, hoping enlightenment would follow.  
  
'Chosen with love  
Wear with pride  
Valen.'  
  
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Harrington was running down the corridor, they were chasing him. He'd escaped once, but they were still after him. He was in a big space. The light seemed to radiate from all around. Than in front of him stood a hooded figure.  
  
He ran towards it, wanting to see who it was. He reached it and saw that the figure was looking away. The man reached up and grabbed at the hood. It came away and the figure turned to face him, but all Harrington saw was a blurred image. He screamed as hands grabbed him again, dragging him down, spraying something in his face and strapping him down to a bed.  
  
He was trapped, and the world was spinning, a glowing light was thrust into his face, it was like a flame but cold. Harrington began to fall into darkness, and then intense pain pulled him back. He screamed again. He was strapped down and naked, his arms were forced over his head, he felt knives being thrust into his arms.  
  
A thick rope encircled his neck, and his head was on fire. Then he was pushed into a tube, which closed around his body, suffocating him. He began to loose consciousness and he screamed again as pain knifed though his body, and he was still screaming when he sat up in bed sweating and wide awake.  
  
It was no good. The nightmares seemed to be getting worse. At first they were just brief images, now they seemed to be full epics. He flung the bedclothes back and made his way to the kitchen. Over a strong cup of coffee he gathered his senses back together again. This was no good; the new telepath Talia Winters had already suggested he have telepathic scan. He was beginning to think it would help this time round.  
  
Harrington remembered the last time he'd been scanned; it was just after the Battle of the line. The doctors were trying to find out how he survived twenty-four hours with a normal oxygen tank and still have five hours air available to him, and Earthforce was trying to find out where he'd been. The scans had been deep, so deep he'd had to be rendered unconscious but nothing had been found. Yet over the years he'd been plagued by these nightmares. Maybe, just maybe, Talia might be able to help.  
  
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Legacies.  
  
Part Three.  
  
The young Minbari messenger had left three letters for her, messages that saddened Delenn's heart. One was from a friend just parted from this world. Another was for Cath Meredith and which Delenn was meant to deliver to the Colithian unread, and the last was from Neroon.  
  
The Minbari reflected on the task she had been given to carry out. It was possible, even if it was going to be difficult. But first she had to deliver letter to the Colithian, and explain about the events that would unfold in the next few days.  
  
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"--and he gave me this to give to you. He said you must only read it when he is finally laid to rest," Delenn explained after apologising for bursting into the Colithian's quarters again and disturbing the woman's meditation time.  
  
Cath was getting used to having her life mucked up. Once she had had a simple life, keeping Tannia 7 running smoothly, but since Earth had been given the station as a gift all she seemed to do was run in circles. "Seems I'm popular at the moment with dead Minbari!" the woman stated.  
  
The Group Captain went on looking at the letter. One thing she noted, it was in her maiden name. Either Lennon had forgotten about her marriage and subsequent widowhood, or this was written along time ago.  
  
Delenn tactfully ignored the Colithian's blunt remark. The Minbari knew her friend was under some pressure due to this situation. Having fought in the Time of Madness and with her parentage, Delenn suspected some of Neroon's plans were linked with revenge.  
  
Finally the Group Captain moved towards the computer table and placed the letter in front of her monitor. She sat down and swivelled the chair to face the tiny Minbari. "Look Delenn, whatever you decide to do - well I'll go along with it."  
  
"About the ceremony," the Minbari quickly changed the subject. This may not be the best time to ask her friend but it was still important. "Have you chosen a friend yet, Van'torlaac?" she finished, using the Minbari title Valen had said was to be Catherine Meredith's.  
  
Catherine Meredith stood up and walked over to the candle burning in memory of Valen, touched her necklace and sighed. "I've thought about it, I think know who to ask, but the one I'd like to ask is a Human --"  
  
"And you are a Colithian, more Human than Minbari!" Delenn laughed.  
  
"But the ceremony is --" Cath seemed shocked at the other's reaction.  
  
"Valen decreed we follow the way of life we all do, he instigated a lot of the ceremonies we use," the Minbari reassured the Colithian. "He created this one for you Cath. He must have known your friendship circle would be small. That is why he said you must choose yourself and put no restrictions on you."  
  
The Colithian took a deep breath and slowly let it out. She put her hand on Delenn's shoulder, noticing for the first time that Delenn was slightly smaller than she was. "Thanks. Now we'd better go and tell Tom about this. Somehow I don't think he's going to like it."  
  
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"What's all this about?" Harrington asked the Group Captain.  
  
"As Delenn says the ship will be carrying the body of a great Minbari leader, Lennon the Anla shoc Na. Simply really," Cath explained.  
  
"Do you not also have something in your military traditions to honour a fallen leader?" asked Delenn.  
  
"Yes, the riderless horse, the missing man formation and other such things," Garibaldi agreed.  
  
"Exactly!" Cath stated. "So why do you think the Minbari are any different."  
  
"Now if you excuse me I have to sort things out to before we meet the Cortège, don't we Cath?" Delenn hinted. The Colithian shrugged. Getting up she smiled as she followed the Minbari out.  
  
Delenn paused. "You will be there of course when the Cortège arrives, to honour Lennon's memory."  
  
Harrington nodded. "Do we really have a choice?" he asked Delenn's retreating back  
  
"Well what do you think?" Garibaldi asked  
  
"The war is over at least that's what I keep trying to tell myself. And if it can help heal the wounds of war with at least one race, I'm all for it." His tone of voice sounded unconvincing.  
  
"But?"  
  
"I don't know," Harrington paused. " Something's not right. I'm going to find Corinth and get her opinion. Still, I think we have to believe Cath's people on this one. They say the Minbari are no threat, Command has approved the whole thing, and Earth Central will probably tell us to tread carefully."  
  
"I thought you and Corinth had fallen out?" the security officer asked, surprised at the affectionate tone Harrington was still using when speaking about his fiancé.  
  
"We did for all of six hours. Than we talked, we're still talking," the Human explained offhandedly.  
  
"Corinth excepted then, do you really trust the Colithians?" Garibaldi asked  
  
Harrington looked thoughtful. " I don't know Michael. They did save our skin twice in the space of four years, and they did give us this station, but no, not fully." He shook his head. "I can't help but feel they're holding something back, even Cath. I mean how can they speak English so well, and why is so much of what they do, similar to what we do on Earth! I'm sorry Michael; I don't fall for the Echo theory. If parallel races with parallel cultures were to evolve why don't we see a parallel Centauri race or even Narn?"  
  
The Chief Security Officer waited patently, sensing his own commanding officer was doing some extremely deep thinking. Finally Harrington spoke. "Jeff said I can trust you to keep your mouth shut, and you were adept at searching for and finding information that is unobtainable through normal channels."  
  
"Look Jeff's exaggerating on that point."  
  
"Maybe, maybe not. I know I shouldn't be here, I'm not really capable of running this station without Cath's help."  
  
"You seem to coping-- "  
  
"Are you aware of the number of times I was passed over for promotion on Mars?" Harrington interrupted. "At first I was puzzled, but then one day I found out why. You see I was offered a choice, Corinth or my career. I chose Corinth without hesitation and that was it. Then almost ten years later I was posted here and was shipped out so fast I had to leave Corinth to sort out my affairs, and I'm still trying to figure out why."  
  
"And that's what you want me to find out?"  
  
"Something like that. Look do me a favour Michael, see what you can turn up. I just want piece of mind."  
  
"You're certain about this? I mean if I can find anything you may not like it."  
  
"Nothing can be as bad as not knowing where my Corinth was being held. Now that was a nightmare to live though," Harrington explained in a tone that implied the interview was over.  
  
He reached over to a sheaf of papers and began to read the top one. This was only a fraction of what Cath had to cope with, how the hell did the Group Captain manage with all the paperwork he thought and still manage to have a life?  
  
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Sinclair was cornered and he knew it. He'd smiled when he saw Cath walking towards him through the Earthforce hanger. This was the place that he'd first met her properly. It was her need, amongst other things to "see a Starfury up front," that had drawn her to his side in the first place. He'd soon found out that the distant, child-like but blunt Wing Commander was a brilliant fighter pilot, with a sense of humour he'd found hard to understand. He also found out that she was prone to laughing a lot.  
  
"I'd like a word with you Jeff, it's personal though," Cath remarked, following him into his office. She glanced at the woman's photograph on his desk. "How is she?"  
  
"Oh fine, well she was last time I spoke to her. Anyway you said it was of a personal nature?"  
  
So she told him and that was it, the entire conversation was over in about ten minutes. Cath had asked him for his help, drank the tea he'd offered and left him to think it over.   
  
Sinclair was both curious and suspicious at the same time. He decided he needed a second opinion. He thought it over for a while, and then it came to him. He'd said it himself about building bridges, and now seemed a good time for him to start.  
  
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Purchasing two coffees Sinclair put a mug in front of Corinth, who sat writing in one of the small quiet cafés that littered the Zocalo. The woman looked up slightly, suspicion clearly showing in her actions, while her eyes tracked him sitting down opposite her. "People like you used to offer me drinks," she stated coldly, "while still interrogating me."  
  
"You rate me with them?"  
  
Corinth sat up and pushed the mug back in Sinclair's direction. "I'm suspicious of all Humans remember?"  
  
Sinclair pushed the mug back, "I introduced you to Harrington remember?" he went on, tossing the words back. "I said a while ago we needed to build bridges, I would like to start here and now. We were once good friends Corinth. A lot has happened since we first met, some good, a lot bad--."  
  
"Ask me your favour and then leave me alone," the Colithian butted in, gathering her papers together and slipping them into a folder for safety. "So what are you after?"  
  
"What do you know about Minbari religious rituals?" he asked, going on to explain what Cath had told him.  
  
"I know about the Minbari naming ceremony, the marriage ceremony and the burial ceremony, oh and the renewal ceremony, but that's one of the few we share."  
  
"But you've never taken part?"  
  
"We are bound by belief and prophecy, not lifestyle," Corinth informed the Human. "Valen himself said we had t'develop into two separate cultures, and the end result means we ended up seeming like an echo of your people.  
  
"So can you tell me something about the renewal ceremony?"  
  
The Colithian sat up and curled her hands around the mug, propping it up with her elbows. If Sinclair really was serious about building bridges then she'd meet him half way. "After Valen entered the Star-fire Chamber to prove he was the One, he created many things and gave the Minbari a new start. He taught both the Minbari and our selves how to cope with the future. And he asked us both t'follow him into fire, storm, darkness and death. In the ceremony we are told about the end of all things, the death, the life, the changes. Just before the ceremony ends, each in the group must tell the rest one great secret they know. They share it, one becoming lighter from the load, the rest becoming enlightened," she finished.  
  
"And that's about it," the Human stated.  
  
"Well that's what I've always experienced," Corinth pointed out.  
  
"You mean you've been though the renewal ceremony yourself?" Sinclair inquired.  
  
The Colithian sighed, "A few times, enough to know I'd like Tom t'join me." She put the mug down, "Jeff - ," she hesitated for a moment getting her thoughts together. Sinclair's questioning was beginning to touch a raw nerve. "It wasn't the physical pain that you coused that hurt the most. It was the way you treated Tom. I never lied t'you Jeff, I couldn't tell what I didn't know." Corinth put the mug down and decided to change the subject. "If Cath has asked you t'be her companion and no other, I'd take that t'be a great honour. Accept it, I would."  
  
Sinclair nodded. "Thanks for the advice. And I meant it Corinth, let's try to pick up the pieces shall we?" He got up and held his hand out. The Colithian looked at it for a moment then reached up; taking hold she curled her fingers around Sinclair's big hand. The Human gripped hers gently and shook it. He was rewarded by a smile that lit the Colithian's face up. Sinclair smiled back and then walked away.  
  
"What are you laughing at?" Garibaldi asked five minutes later when she joined him in the security office.  
  
"In modern Minbari the word 'An'tolca' means friend/companion, but in Torrac's language it means--," she paused while she tried to find the right word. "It means marriage spouse!"  
  
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"A Minbari war cruiser, I never thought I'd see one again. Ugly aren't they?" Harrington stated, watching the ship emerge from the jump gate.  
  
"They're amongst the most beautiful things I've ever seen," Cath sighed loudly; her expression was one of pure envy. "Well I'd better go and get changed," she sighed again while dragging herself away from the screen. She turned and faced them, her eyes still trying to stay locked on the screen. "Don't forget different races, different rules. Remember whatever happens. - Don't panic." She grinned.  
  
"And they're so like us humans." Garibaldi shook his head; still trying to comprehend the fact that while the humans still feared the Minbari, the Colithian's happily lived side by side with them.  
  
"Gun ports are open, boarding party will disembark in twenty minutes," a Colithian voice sounded round the room.  
  
"Put us on full alert, this is how the Minbari War started!" Harrington stated clarifying his orders.  
  
"No need Sir," the man sounded perplexed." It's just a sign of respect. They are telling us they come in peace, and it's their way of saying 'they come with open heart and hand', as they say in the Far Space Ten story."  
  
For a moment Harrington pondered on the man's words, then wondered just how many Earth books the man had been reading. "I hope your right, I don't want to start another war over a misunderstanding."  
  
"Highly unlikely sir, 'twice into darkness sir, once into light', that's what Elizabeth told us," the man said returning to his consul.  
  
Deciding that the Colithian wasn't going to elaborate on his statement, Harrington gestured the rest of the humans to follow him. It was time they went to meet the Minbari party.  
  
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They were waiting for Cath to appear. Even she couldn't get away from wearing her best uniform on this occasion. Finally the Group Captain appeared followed by Corinth, Cath strolled into the waiting area with an air of self-confidence that seemed to touch everybody who passed her.  
  
Garibaldi studied her uniform. As he expected, it was considerably plainer than the Earthforce one. She wore a dress coat like him though without the lanyard, and in the blue/grey colour he'd come to expect. Her blouse was designed to be open at the neck and was also a light blue. The Colithian's rank seemed to be shown by rings around the bottom of her jacket sleeves, light blue stripes set into gold rings. Over her left breast was a set of gold 'Wings' under that was what seemed like medal ribbons.  
  
It was at these ribbons that Harrington did a double take. If the ribbons said what he thought they did, one of them meant she held Earth's 'The Battle of the Line' medal! How the hell did she get hold of that he wondered? He was sure no Colithian had been offered the medal. His eyes were then drawn to her neck, around which hung a crystal necklace, which seemed to glow with an inner light.  
  
When the Cortège finally entered the corridor, the Minbari Warrior Caste led the procession; the banners of the Star Riders hung down from poles, held by the Minbari warriors walking on each side of the coffin. The highest-ranking Minbari leading the procession, and the line was interspaced with other minbari chanting mantras and burning incense in honour of Valen. The formalness of the occasion seemed to wash over the room and the Colithians instinctively put one hand onto their chests and bowed in reverence. The coffin itself was covered with a cloth and it seemed to glow with a medium blue light. The lead figure, a large imposing Warrior, stopped in front of the party and the rest of the column did the same.  
  
"Ambassador Delenn!" the Warrior spoke.  
  
"Alit Neroon," she bowed. "I welcome you on behalf of all the Minbari on this station. It is an unhappy journey in which you travel."  
  
"For a warrior there is no other end to the journey," Neroon stated almost arrogantly.  
  
"I would like you to meet Commander Harrington," Delenn went on. "Lieutenant Commander Sinclair, Lieutenant Commander Ivanova and Chief Security Officer Garibaldi. I would also like to introduce you to the Colithian Commander Group Captain Catherine Meredith, and her chief security officer Squadron Leader Richards."  
  
Cath bowed respectfully. "In Valen's name and that of his shadow Torrac, I welcome you aboard Britannia 7. My heart grieves at your loss, Anla shoc Na Lennon was a great leader, moulded in the image of Valen."  
  
Neroon coughed softly. "We are honoured with your words Cath'ha'hean." He made sure his voice echoed around the room. Sinclair wondered if the Minbari had actually said what he did. Delenn seemed to confirm this with her shocked look. Cath shrugged slightly, letting the apparent insult flow over her. Even Corinth Richards tensed when Neroon spoke, only relaxing when her friend shrugged.  
  
"The Group Captain has arranged for a place so the body may lie in state," Delenn said before of either Neroon or Cath could say anything else. Though it was obvious to all the Humans that something was passing between the two apparent allies.  
  
"It is a worthy thing to honour the Anla shoc Na. I thank you." The Minbari addressed Harrington rather than the Colithian.  
  
"It is a worthy thing that you should honour the importance of this place with his presence." Harrington took over, wondering why the tall Minbari refused to acknowledge the tiny Colithian.  
  
Ivanova added, "Mr Garibaldi will escort you to the place there the body may lie."  
  
"If you'll come this way please," the security chief said, gesturing the tall Minbari to follow him. The column reformed and followed Garibaldi and the Alit to a room that both Cath and Delenn had worked hard to make befitting for the dead leader.  
  
"It seems the Alit doesn't like you!" Harrington addressed the Group Captain as he watched the column move away.  
  
"My father was an honourable man Tom and in the Time of Madness he saw a way to stop the slaughter. In the process he was captured by Oolan, Neroon's father." The Colithian sighed. "According to the story Oolan told his son, my father tricked Dukat into releasing him. Oolan it seems never got over the fact he failed t'recognise my father and it turned his mind. He believed he'd been dishonoured, and since I had also fought against the Minbari I was also involved. He swore a death oath, and since it is only Minbari he cannot kill, it remains valid."  
  
"But you're still alive!"  
  
When Dukat found out about the oath, he become very angry, forcing Oolan to recant, but the bitterness remained. Neroon will kill me if he gets the chance, but he will also do it honourably, properly, in combat and as I've no reason t'fight him, well--," Cath stopped speaking and looked at the human who seemed to be staring at the grill floor of the walkway above them. "Is everything alright?" she asked, dragging the man back to the present.  
  
"Yes - sorry. Look how old is this part of Tannia 7?"  
  
"About ninety years old, why?"  
  
"Just curious. Was Tannia 7 at The Battle of the Line?"  
  
"As part of Tannia 5, yes. Why?" Harrington wasn't the kind of man to ask stupid questions and the Colithian was at a loss to understand the direction he was heading.  
  
"Oh nothing, just curious," he stated moving off. "Hadn't we better go and view the body? I guess that's what we've got to do in this charade."  
  
"What makes you think this is a charade?"  
  
"Corinth briefed us Humans about the customs and why Lennon is here, and I don't think Delenn's happy with the situation either. In fact she seemed down right --."  
  
"Miffed?" Cath finished the sentence.  
  
"You've got it," Harrington laughed. "Miffed, yea I like that word, miffed."  
  
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The coffin was carried at waist height to the plinth it was to be laid on. The mourners came and paid their last respects. Then later that night Neroon put a Minbari guard on the room, forbidding anyone from entering at all, at least until the following day.  
  
The ceremony was, as expected, a solemn occasion. The lights were low and a drum beat slowly, a light smell of incense filled the room and the Tania 7 group stood in one corner. The Minbari party walked towards the coffin, Delenn now dressed in white stood by the side of Neroon.  
  
"He was the best of us," Neroon began respectfully, facing the coffin." Warrior, leader, Anla shoc! He fought with honour, bravery and vision. Now he belongs to the ages." Neroon gestured for the blue cover to be raised.  
  
Two young warriors obeyed the order, folding the cover into a small triangle and giving the coverlet to Delenn. The coffin lid was raised and Neroon looked then his eyes widened with shock. "Where is the Anla shoc Na?" he shouted as he looked franticly round the inside of the coffin, hoping in a way that the body was hiding in a corner. Then he spun round. "What have you done with the Anla'shoc Na?"  
  
Cath shouted, "What!" And moved forward to look in the coffin, closely followed by the men. She too stared into an empty coffin, the sight too unbelievable to take in.  
  
But it was Garibaldi who summoned up the situation in three words. "O my God!"  
  
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Legacies.  
  
Part Four  
  
"Where is the Anla shoc Na's body?" Neroon shouted, glaring at the command party who had all retreated to Harrington's office.  
  
"That is what we are going to find out," Garibaldi explained. "We've already launched a full scale investigation."  
  
"This is a grave offence Commander, unforgivable--," Delenn began.  
  
"Don't you think I know that Delenn?" Cath interrupted the Minbari.  
  
"Unlike your people Group Captain, Minbari warriors are heedless of their own lives in battle. Thus their bodies after death are treated with great, even extreme reverence," Delenn cut in.  
  
The Colithian sounded shocked. "Are you saying we have no respect for our dead?"  
  
"No but if the shell of the soul is lost, it will bring shame to the Minbari people as a race --."  
  
"And bring the fury of the Warrior Caste down upon you," Neroon cut in.  
  
"Are you threatening to go to war over this?" Harrington asked calmly, his eyes fixed firmly on the Minbari warrior.  
  
"This was how our last war started, it was over the death of Dukat," Neroon was starting to raise his voice.  
  
"That was a tragic accident," Cath went on, ignoring the scathing look she received from Neroon, "just as the start of the Time of Madness was." The message the Colithian sent to the tall Minbari was obvious, at least to Delenn. She decided it was time to try and calm the atmosphere a little.  
  
"No matter how great the loss, it is not the Minbari way to let a single clan to dictate policy to the rest of our people." The tiny Minbari looked at the Tannia 7 staff. "We will appreciate your best efforts in solving this situation Commander, Group Captain." She turned to the Warrior. "And I suggest we let then get on with their jobs in peace."  
  
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"Do you think the body has really been transformed as Delenn has suggested?" Corinth Richards asked, thinking about a remark the Ambassador had suggested to Neroon. Neroon's reaction had been predicable to say the least. He was convinced the body had been stolen, and was keeping to that theory. She finished putting the final touches to the dining table. Cath had decided to call a meeting and saw no reason why they couldn't eat at the same time.  
  
"I don't know. Personally I wish Paul Bremner was back," the Group Captain's voice floated out of the kitchen area.  
  
"Give him time t'sort himself out for God's sake Cath. Anyway why don't you ask Sphere?  
  
"Sphere's keeping a low profile at the moment, besides which, if she has found anything out she'd tell me," Cath pointed out as Corinth entered the kitchen area.  
  
"What the hell is this?" Corinth exclaimed pointing to, then picking up, the object in question.  
  
"A muffin! Michael gave me the recipe."  
  
"You are joking!"  
  
"I know it didn't turn out quite like I expected, it didn't sort of rise."  
  
"Didn't sort of rise! Hell Cath, it's more like a long-range projectile. You could throw this at your enemies and put them in hospital. Try eating this and you'll break you teeth."  
  
"Yes, okay so it didn't work. Next time I'll stick to making Nibbles instead."  
  
Corinth suddenly remembered something important she'd found out, but in the chaos of the last few days she'd forgotten all about it. "Have you heard the Technomages are on the move? Seems they're heading for Tannia 7." the blonde haired woman exclaimed.  
  
Cath looked surprised at first, but quickly began to think of a solution to the problem. "If that's true I don't want Garibaldi finding out, at least not yet. If they are moving here I need stop panic spreading."  
  
"So were do you suggest we put them? I think they will want to be out of the way as well."  
  
"Do you remember the old recycling section in what was Tannia 4? Well somewhere 'round there is an evacuation point. Thing is you can disconnect the Matrix from that spot and the mainframe won't register it."  
  
"So no Matrix connection, equals no mainframe detection, equals total privacy," Corinth replied.  
  
'You got it!" the Group Captain exclaimed.  
  
The Squadron Leader suddenly looked serious. "Hang on, you mean the ship has a blind spot?"  
  
"Yes, you know it was damaged in the Expansion Wars. Well when it was fixed, for some obscure reason nobody's been able to understand, the Matrix decided to play silly buggers with that particular area, and insisted it was only a temporary addition. Snag is I don't actually know where the actual blind spot is."  
  
"How long have you know this?" Corinth began to interrogate her commanding officer. An interesting thought had crept into her mind, and she needed all the information she could get to check it out.  
  
"Since I was about ten."  
  
"Why didn't you tell me about it earlier."  
  
"Didn't think of it until now. Why?" Catherine Meredith had been slightly economical with to truth when she was talking to Sinclair earlier, she knew Corinth Richards extremely well, and guessed the woman was probing for a reason.  
  
"I have my reasons--"  
  
The door opened checking the women's conversation. Harrington entered the room; he moved to Corinth's side and kissed her on the cheek. "What's for dinner?"  
  
"A trip to the dentist I think," Corinth said sarcastically. Cath picked up a muffin and threw it at her. Corinth ducked, and the projectile flew past her head hitting the wall. It shattered leaving a small brown mark behind.  
  
The wall seemed to change colour from pale pink to a sickly green then to brown and back. When the colour settled down the wall was a uniform pink again. Harrington's mouth fell open with amazement and the women just looked at each other. "Well it didn't like that!" Corinth stammered, watching the remains on the floor appear to fade out of existence.  
  
"What the hell happened there?" Harrington finally found his voice.  
  
"The housekeeper was cleaning up the mess for me," the Group Captain explained, deciding the burnt offerings were safer on the bin. Tipping them into the organic waste unit she listened to what her friend had to say.  
  
"Housekeeper! What housekeeper?" This ship was throwing up more mysteries by the day, and he'd given up asking his fiancé. He just couldn't find her half the time. Harrington knew Corinth said she was looking into something, but given the typical Colithian understatement, 'something' could mean anything.  
  
"How often have you had to clean your quarters?" Cath's eyes laughed at him.  
  
"None, I thought someone came in and did it."  
  
"No, you can set the house computer to absorb things like food," she glanced at Cath. "Dust, well anything really, even make your room smell nice. It can't clean personal things, make beds or brew a decent cup of tea yet, but we're working on the last one," she finished, grinning broadly.  
  
Harrington smiled to himself. He was glad Corinth was coming out of her shell even though she was still wary of Earthforce staff. In fact he was glad that in the few months she'd been back in Command, she'd become more like the woman he fallen in love with on the day Sinclair had first introduced her.  
  
"So what's been happening then?" Sinclair asked joining them with Garibaldi a pace behind. He followed the Group Captain's gesture and sat down, "And what's for dinner?"  
  
"Ask Mike, he stuffed it in my oven!" Corinth sniggered at the words her commanding officer had said, and Garibaldi grinned but for other reasons. Cath was a decent cook, but she'd run out of ideas and had asked him to give her some cookery ideas and lessons. He moved into the kitchen area and using the oven cloth, removed the casserole dish from the oven, and placed it in the middle of the table.  
  
"Boeuf Bourgeon!" he said answering Sinclair's question.  
  
Corinth looked at the meal, prodded it with a fork and exclaimed, " Beef stew, so where's the dumpling?"  
  
Garibaldi was about to speak but the Group Captain cut him short. "Eat, drink and be thankful you're still alive," she said sternly. The two security officers got the hint and sat down - next to each other!  
  
Cath served the meal and opened a few bottles of wine. During the evening the group tossed ideas around but to no avail. Corinth said she'd have words with someone, and Garibaldi outlined a new search plan. But by the time the party broke up, they were still no nearer to finding a solution.  
  
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Harrington flicked though the journal he'd started just after the Battle of the Line. It had been the trauma of seeing so much death and destruction that had caused him to loose his nerve. Post Traumatic Stress Disorders they called it. Everything that could be done had been tried. Sinclair had even strapped him into the back of a trainer but to no avail. He would break out into a sweat and panic or just freeze.  
  
Then the nightmares had begun. At first they were single flashes, now they were full-blown epics. From time to time he'd get very clear images and he'd write them down. Today he'd seen something that made him check the journal. In his dreams Harrington would often see a grill walkway, today he'd seen the exact image while wide awake, and the more the human though about it, the more he was aware this wasn't the first time he'd been awake when he'd been seeing these images from his nightmares.  
  
The journal was in Latin. He'd not wanted Corinth to read it, it was his personal experience and besides which she had her own nightmares to contend with, not that she didn't know about his. He'd woken her up enough time screaming.  
  
He marked a few sections, ringed a few others and put the book away. Now he though, if he could just see the face of the hooded figure!  
  
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------  
  
The world spun round and Cath tried to get off. Crawling out of bed her mouth tasted like something had crawled in and died, her head throbbed and so did the rest of her limbs. Deciding to use the shower instead of the bath, she finally managed to get dressed, and made her way to the kitchen area. Once there she opened a bottle and took the precise dose she'd always taken when she felt this rough. As she did so the door chime went off, and she let Garibaldi in.  
  
"Just to update you on the investigation," he informed her, "we've searched half the station and found nothing. Neroon is still screaming war, and Harrington's asking your people for advice. Delenn is still saying the body has been transformed, and Sinclair wants to know if we should put the defence grid on standby. Otherwise it's just a normal day." Garibaldi glanced at the box of empty wine bottles on the floor by the door and then at the Colithian, noting the vacant look in her eyes. He'd also smelt a faint whiff of fresh alcohol on her breath when she'd greeted him.  
  
The human's eyes went back to the box. He seemed to remember the box had been almost full last night and he was sure they'd only drunk two bottles before the meeting had broken up. He had a pretty good idea what had happened to the rest.  
  
Cath clutched her stomach, went pale and ran to the toilet. Garibaldi heard the sound of retching followed by a sobbing noise, and decided the woman had a hangover. He fished the coffee from the cupboard, noting the cream in the fridge which made him smile and made them both a coffee, making sure the woman's was very strong.  
  
Returning to the tender clutches of the human security officer Cath accepted the coffee, sniffed it first, and then drank it. She pulled a funny face, went an odd green colour, clutched her stomach again and flew back to the toilet for a repeat performance.  
  
This time she returned smelling strongly of the distinctive perfume she normally wore. She still looked pale and Garibaldi noted her speech was a little slurred when she asked him if he wanted a civilized drink instead of coffee.  
  
Drinking the tea she'd brewed earlier, Cath felt hungry, and knowing that if she were sick again, it would be on an empty stomach, she dragged her blender out and mixed two eggs with a pint of milk. Adding two headache tablets to her list of 'must do's' the Colithian drank the lot in one go and swallowed the tablets, washing them down with the now stewed tea.  
  
Chasing the human out of her quarters, the Group Captain made her way to her office. By the time she got there she was feeling even worse. She kept feeling dizzy, and her eyesight was slightly blurred. Glad to have finally made it, the woman sat down and reached into one of her desk drawers, from where she retrieved a bottle.  
  
Her hands were shaking as she pored herself a glass full and drank it, letting the golden fluid flow over her tongue and bite into the back of her throat. Shuddering slightly with the sensation, Cath closed her eyes and relaxed as the liquid found it's way into her gut. Waiting for the shakes to subside she found her nose had bled slightly. Looking at the trace of blood on the back of her hand, she shivered. The woman was horrified as she recognized the symptoms. Burying her head in her hands she wondered what Garibaldi must have thought of her.  
  
"Valen shan taa. Not again," she said to herself. "Not again."  
  
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Neroon stormed into Harrington's office. The Human first looked up at the Minbari, then glanced at the adjoining door between his office and Cath's second. Before he could say anything Neroon had launched himself into a tirade of words.  
  
"The man is useless!" Neroon stormed, throwing the latest report on the station Commander's desk. "Pak'ma'ra stomach contents! Lennon's body must be found and if your Security people cannot do their jobs, then they must be replaced by someone one who can."  
  
"Our security officers are doing the job they are employed to do. The search of all the public areas and quarters had to be done first." Harrington wasn't happy with the way the Minbari had come storming into his office, but tactfully he kept quite about it. "Now they are looking at the station structure it self. If security has to take the entire station apart piece by piece then they will."  
  
"If your people cannot do the job in hand, then I may have to get my ship to help in taking the station apart!" the Minbari almost snarled out.  
  
Harrington began to feel his temper rising. Forcing himself to stay calm he stood up and rested his hands on the desk, pushing his body forward to be closer to the Warrior. "Neither the Colithians nor myself take kindly to threats Alit Neroon."  
  
"I don't make threats Commander--," Neroon informed him, as he bowed before leaving the room.   
  
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Cath had over heard the conversation but tactfully kept out of the way. In fact Neroon's screaming had woken her up from a daydream, if it could be called that! Memories flew though her mind of the Time of Madness. She saw herself in hand-to-hand combat with a Minbari, his blood all over her hands, of flying over Minbar itself and a brave young Anla shoc holding a staff up in the air, defying her to shoot him. And that woman, that Minbari woman she often found herself looking at, in a mirror in her dreams.  
  
Something was nagging at her. It had started the moment Neroon had declared the body had been stolen. Now she was beginning to understand that Neroon was starting to use the situation to get at her personally. Maybe if he got at her enough, he could re-start the War. But which war, and with which race? Human or Colithian?  
  
Horrified at her own deduction, the Group Captain knew that her people would be torn apart, they were tied to Valen by prophesy but the humans were--. No, maybe if she offered her life in exchange? Would Neroon accept that, her life in exchange for Lennon's?  
  
'Don't be a fool Cath', she told herself. Neroon would insist on using the Denn bok, what chance would she have. Lennon had let her hold his Denn bok, and had even shown her how he used it, but beyond that nothing. It wasn't something used outside of Minbar. Well there were some who knew how, but she'd never been inclined to join them. Trying to keep calm and speaking in Minbari so that if Harrington did manage to overhear her he wouldn't understand what she was saying, the Colithian called GCHQ.  
  
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Sinclair watched as Flight Officer Julian Carter walked towards him shaking his head. The Human now knew the extensive hanger areas and stores almost as well as the Group Captain. He'd initiated a search and found nothing. All around him the Colithians seemed jittery, but it was not just because Neroon was on board. It was something more than that. The jittery feeling seemed to stem from the older members of the crew, those who were old enough to have lived though the Time of Madness - and the sensation was the fear of war.  
  
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Legacies.  
  
Part Five.  
  
The girl moved though the area called Downbelow. She was lost and alone, and though young, she had the careworn face of someone much older. She had been living by her wits, so far she'd not had to sell her body, but it had been close. If it weren't for the Colithian civilian workers who ran the catering section she'd have starved. As it was there'd been no work for more than five days, she was hungry and needed to eat. If she wasn't going to sell her body, she had to find another source of income.  
  
The girl kept her eyes on the stall. For a brief moment the stallholder's attention was elsewhere. It was all she needed. Running up to the stall, she grabbed the jewellery and ran. The stallholder chased after her and almost caught her. She heard him calling out, "Stop thief," and then a solid wall of sound hit her, and she screamed in pain and fear before collapsing onto the floor unconscious.  
  
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The Human decided to take a shower. It was a long day, and as usual recently, Corinth was up to something. He opened his door, walked in, and was promptly felled by a heavy weight jumping him. Harrington grunted under the impact while he tried to keep his balance. Regaining his balance he lashed out, hearing a satisfying thud as his fist connected to something. But his attacker quickly recovered, sending Harrington flying. Picking himself up and diving at the attacker, Harrington managed to floor him. The attacker regained his feet, but Harrington had the upper hand now that he had his attacker cornered, and repeatedly bashed his attacker against the wall. The moment the Human felt his attacker weaken he grabbed the opportunity and twisted his torso, flinging his attacker onto the floor.  
  
"Lights," he called out, and they came on the reveal the dishevelled face of Neroon.  
  
"How the hell did you get in?" Harrington shouted. "And what are you doing here?"  
  
"Easy if you're a Minbari," Cath's voice entered the room just before she did. "Isn't it Neroon?" She turned to face the human. "You see we use Minbari locks on the doors."  
  
"A wise choice on this occasion if I may say so."  
  
"A stupid choice!" The Group Captain had reverted to the Warrior dialect Neroon was speaking, and in turn the Warrior was surprised at Cath's fluency. Caught off guard Neroon began to argue with the small Colithian. Behind them another figure emerged and entered the room.  
  
Delenn broke into the conversation. " If you two have anything to say, say it in English so that the Commander may understand what you're saying," this comment hit home, and the two antagonists stopped speaking and seemed to sulk.  
  
"I asked you what you were doing here?" Harrington repeated himself, noticing for the first time the rip in his sleeve.  
  
Neroon picked himself up and dusted himself down, acting as if this was normal house call. "Everywhere else on the ship has been searched except here, a place where no one would dare go!"  
  
"Wrong!" Garibaldi walked in, took in the state of the room and shook his head slightly. The Security officer had been busy in Med Lab talking to Steven Franklin, now he found he needed to speak to the Group Captain. As he knew it was cat-feeding time it was relatively easy to track the Colithian down. What he hadn't expected was to hear two people shouting at each other in Minbari, and the sounds coming from Harrington's open door. "I searched these quarters myself personally with Ambassador Delenn. I wanted to make sure everything was on the up and up, and nobody was trying to pull a fast one. You might like to try it sometime," he nodded at the Warrior.  
  
"Escort the Alit back to his quarters," Harrington sighed, glad that his security office had appeared. It had defused the situation somewhat and it gave the human commander an excuse to get rid of Neroon without causing another scene. "And we will continue the search without his help."   
  
He took his jacket off and threw it on the sofa. He was annoyed about that rip. Unlike the Colithian who could just swap damaged kit for new stuff, he was going to have to pay for this.   
  
"Will do!" Garibaldi glanced at Neroon. The man refused eye contact but threw a filthy look at the Colithian.  
  
"It is all right Commander I will do the job for you," Delenn said. " I need to speak to the Alit anyway."  
  
Harrington nodded and Garibaldi was relieved. He wanted to speak to Cath now, not later. Garibaldi touched the Group Captain on the shoulder; she turned to look up at him. "Something's come up, I'd like a private word in you office," he informed her.  
  
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"How the hell did she manage to be abandoned by Earth?" Cath just couldn't believe what she was hearing when Garibaldi told her all about the young waif.  
  
Garibaldi had approached the Group Captain at Ivanova's request, and the reaction he received was one he'd expected. It had been bad enough when she'd discovered the old workshops in the 4th section had been taken over by 'undesirables' or lurker's. The woman had wanted the area cleared and it was only after he and Franklin, with Corinth Richard's help, had confronted her that the woman had relented. Then she'd asked Franklin to set up a medical centre much to the doctor's amazement.  
  
"It's not as easy as that," he tried to explain.  
  
"What do you mean it's not as easy as that? How the hell do you manage t'loose someone?"  
  
Garibaldi took a deep breath and slowly let it out. "Where were you born?" he asked.  
  
"Here, when it was Tannia 4, why?" Cath seemed surprised at the question, but she knew enough about Garibaldi to sense this was a leading question.  
  
"So you were born here, on a military ship, you were born into a system that you then voluntary joined, you're a command brat Cath; can't you see that! Now I've been checking up on some facts. Every Colithian is given a number at birth, as well as an ID tag. This means it hard to get lost in the system. You yourself are part of that system and you're cocooned by it. But it's not the same on Earth. It's easy for people to get lost and this kid's one of them. Don't forget I was almost in that position myself until I met Jeff."  
  
"She's also a human so nothing to do with me!" the Colithian pointed out.  
  
"Which is why Ivanova doesn't want her to return to Earth. If she does she'll slip into the clutches of Psi Corp."  
  
"So what's her choice then?"  
  
"I need your permission to keep her in protective custody on the station, that way she can't be taken off without a fuss. Susan has suggested that Alisa should be allowed to choose where she wants to go. For the moment the new telepath, Talia Winters has agreed not to inform Psi Corp and Harrington has also agreed with Ivanova."  
  
The Colithian listened to what was said, and then realised she'd just been backed into a corner. Shaking her head she replied, "Then do I really have a choice?"  
  
The man smiled. "No, not really."  
  
Cath's main communicator buzzed just as Garibaldi was about to walk out of her office. Whoever was on the other end of the screen was speaking Minbari. Cath nodded said something back in the same dialect, and called the human back  
  
"Right - well now you can do me a favour. Come with me, I need a witness!"  
  
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Sphere walked into the room where the empty coffin stood. Cath and Garibaldi moved behind her. Standing before the coffin, she studied it before closing her eyes and extending her arms, her hands hovering scant inches above the surface.  
  
"Everything leaves traces behind. I have the ability to read these records. I will try to read the last few moments. I will need to concentrate though."  
  
The Mayji took a deep breath, let it out slowly and closed her eyes as she began to concentrate. Images began to flow though her mind. Searching out the right one she began to speak "He was removed and wrapped in a white shroud. I see two hooded figures. I sense male bodies, and they are strong. They know what they are doing."  
  
Stopping and opening her eyes, she spun around and spoke. "I'm going to see if I can follow their signatures." Her hands hovered over the walls, out into the corridor and down a couple of corridors until at a crossroads she shook her head. "I'm sorry, there's too much interference, and too many people have passed this way. I can't find the signatures any more." The last words were aimed at Garibaldi, already mumbling something under his breath about telepaths.  
  
"So it seems it wasn't a transformation, it was a kidnapping - interesting," Cath breathed softly, but with earshot of the Human security officer.  
  
"Can you trust her?" the man asked, with the Mayji still within earshot herself. Sphere ignored him, her mind already on other things.  
  
"Stop being so bloody paranoid Michael, " Cath snarled, as the implication of Sphere's words sank in. Neroon was right after all and the body had been taken. The only problem was how and why. The 'how' Corinth's sister had sorted out for them, the 'why' was another thing altogether.  
  
Garibaldi had never seen fear on Cath's face, but now he saw it, and it frightened him. "What's up?" he asked, his voice a little unsteady.  
  
"Have you ever seen a Minbari war cruiser in action?" she inquired, and the Human nodded. "Then add one of our ships and you have a recipe for death!"  
  
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"Try it now!" Jayson Meredith's familiar voice sounded in the lab.  
  
A voice replied back, "Found." as a light lit up on the control panel. This was the culmination of over a month's hard work, co-ordinating all the information needed to work a computer detection program out. The message from the Citadel had been simple but urgent." Put all your resources into the program but find one that worked!"  
  
"Try again," the man said, reading the program text at the same time."  
  
"Found."  
  
"And one last time."  
  
"Still located."  
  
"Ok, switch off and exit set up," he informed his staff. Swiftly they finished the 'shut down' process and left, leaving the drop dead gorgeous one on his own. Jayson stared at the empty computer screen and in the silence reflected on his problem. This was going to be interesting to say the least. He would have to go to Tannia 7 and this time Cath would be there.  
  
His mind went back to the last time they'd spoken, or argued more like. He remembered telling her, "To grow up and get your self sorted out or else." Cath had told him to, "Get stuffed!" At that point she'd left, and put a Harrier though it's paces. When the Wing Commander had returned in a better mood, Jayson had already kept his promise and left. Last time he'd gone to Tannia 7 the Wing Commander had been recalled to GHQ, for a last minute briefing on the Handover. This time she'd be there in person, which meant he'd be breaking his promise to her.  
  
Valen's Shadow, he thought, why did this situation have to crop up now? What had he done to deserve this, and Cath still hadn't got her problem sorted out.  
  
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Delenn was not sitting on her normal seat in the garden. She normally sat opposite the Zen garden, and it was Cath who would often sit here opposite the tree. But her attention was drawn to the structure being built over by the far wall. Whatever it was, it was going to be big, and set at an angle of steeper then 45 degrees if her calculation wasn't wrong. What it was going to be the garden designer was keeping quiet about, but it was still a remarkable project whatever it was.  
  
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"Besides Psi Corp, taking the sleepers and the Narn, are there any other people I could talk to?" Alisa asked her companion.  
  
Ivanova thought for a moment. "Well from what I understand the Colithian's don't have telepaths either, but they do have other 'Gifts' or so I've heard. There is also the Minbari, they're friends of the Colithian's. I could arrange to let you meet the Minbari Ambassador straight away if you want."  
  
"Thank you. I just want to know what all my options are, then I can choose." The waif smiled.  
  
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Delenn was waiting for the waif to arrive. Susan had asked and Delenn had been happy to oblige, and suggested the neutral area of the Garden as a meeting place.  
  
"Ambassador," the Russian nodded. " I'm glad you could take the time to meet us."  
  
Delenn stood up and bowed. "My pleasure. Now Alisa it seems you wish to know about the Minbari homeworld." She gestured for the girl to sit down.  
  
"I just want to see all my cards on the table before I make a bet," the girl explained as she sat down  
  
"I was not aware it was a game we were playing?" Delenn exclaimed, while Susan began to move off to a discreet distance.  
  
"It's just an expression of speech Ambassador," she explained still keeping within earshot, before turning her attention to the building structure. Whatever it was it was going to be BIG.  
  
"Perhaps we should start with some general information first. For the Minbari Psi ability is considered a gift. The use of it is extended as a service to the ones who need it."  
  
"They're not paid. How do they live?" This information had come as a surprise.  
  
"It is not a job, it is a service, a calling. All that they require is provided for them, as well as the high regard of the people. They are then left to get on with what they think is best." Delenn paused to let the information sink in then went on. "For example you may hear a name mentioned by the Colithian's, that of Torracmir. She was a great prophet, she too did what she thought was best and served Valen all her life. She was rewarded with great honour, but not paid in money as such."  
  
The girl looked at Delenn and found herself drawn into the Minbari's mind. The wall Talia had shown her how to build was falling down again. She saw two Minbari dressed in white, using some sort of light beam set in a triangle to stun the Guard of Honour. They took the body from the coffin and rapped it in a white cloth---.  
  
Delenn found her mind being invaded. She saw the images the girl was seeing and quickly blocked them, but she was certain Alisa had seen something.  
  
"I think we should go." The girl sounded distressed.  
  
Susan picked the distress up and returned to the group. "Don't you want more time?"  
  
"No I've seen enough. I got a clear picture thank you."  
  
As she walked away Delenn knew from the waif's words that the girl had seen everything. It disturbed the Minbari; it meant she was going to have to move faster than she wanted.  
  
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Almost rushing out of the garden the girl finally stopped. "Is there something going on around here about a dead body?" she asked clearly distressed.  
  
"Yes why?" Susan looked shocked.  
  
"When I looked into the Ambassador's mind I saw something about the body. I know what happened to it."  
  
Doing the only thing she could, Ivanova raised her Earthforce communicator to her lips and made a call to security. " Mr Garibaldi I need to speak to you right away."  
  
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It was that time of the month again for red tape. The Group Captain hated it, but it had to be done. So doing anything she could to take her mind off the present situation Cath wandered into the registrar's office. She flicked though the newspaper that Carl Francis, the civilian official, had left on his desk.  
  
"Come for your weekly report?" he asked, walking though the door. "Well we've had three births, no marriages and four cremations."  
  
"Four cremations? I thought I'd only cleared three." This was an interesting revelation, Cath was sure the death toll from the raider attack had been lighter than this.  
  
" I'm sure it was four, one moment while I access the computer. Carl Frances paused for a moment while he accessed the information. "Yes you cleared four"  
  
"Can you show me?"  
  
Getting up Carl walked over to a filing cabinet, opened the drawer and pulled out a file, flicking though the pages. He than pulled a couple of sheets out, and handed them over.  
  
Glancing at the papers Cath looked at him. "Are you sure I sighed these."  
  
"Commander, you handed me the first one, and I was on my lunch break when you sent the second one."  
  
"That's not my signature. Look, it's not got a slash underneath it."  
  
"But why would somebody want to forge your signature?"  
  
Who indeed thought Cath. Then it struck her and she frowned. "I think I know who."  
  
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"Commander, look I've just spoken to Alisa Beldon," Garibaldi explained, "and I think you'd better talk to her."  
  
"Miss Beldon!" Tom said to a clearly nervous young girl.  
  
"Commander - there is something you have to know," the girl said nervously, trying to find some way of saying what she had to but frightened of the consequences. "When I was talking to Ambassador Delenn earlier, I - well I saw something. She covered it up real quick. She knows who took the body and she knows where it is!"  
  
Harrington looked surprised at the revelation. At that moment his watch buzzed and Cath's voice reached his ears. "Tom I think I know where the body is," she told him. "Meet me in hanger J3."  
  
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Legacies.  
  
Part Six.  
  
Delenn put the lid on the box, bowed and handed the box to another Minbari dressed as a religious acolyte. The acolyte bowed back, just as the hanger door opened and four people walked in.  
  
"Ambassador!" Harrington nodded.  
  
"Commander!" she replied calmly, sensing this was more than just an informal meeting.  
  
"Shipping something home Ambassador?" It was Cath and she was looking angry.  
  
"Just some personal possessions," Delenn informed them, seeing no reason to lie with the Colithian around. Without her presence the Minbari might have said something else.  
  
Garibaldi moved forward and took the lid of the box, while Sinclair moving with him, removed a cloth covered tubular object. He carefully unwrapped it to reveal a silver coloured flask.  
  
"I think we need to talk, don't we Delenn?" Harrington said flatly, watching Cath reaction to the discovery. Sinclair handed the flask back to the acolyte re-wrapped in the cloth and bowed slightly. No point in hurting the acolyte's feeling's any more than needed he thought.  
  
"Quite a trick wasn't it, stealing Lennon's body and cremating it without anyone knowing. But the Colithians have to keep records and you're not very good at forging the Group Captain's signature. So Why?"  
  
"As a member of the Religious Caste I felt an obligation to Lennon, he was my friend as well. He was a great leader and although Anla shoc, he was still a religious at heart. He wished his ashes to be scattered amongst the stars, not to be put on display by the Warrior Caste--"  
  
"Why didn't you come to me and tell me this?" The hurt was evident in the Colithian's voice. "He was one the greatest Minbari since Valen walked amongst us. Don't you think I would have understood?" Cath exclaimed.  
  
"He only became a part of the Warrior Caste because that is what the Anla'shoc are, a part of the Warrior Caste. That was his calling, but the calling of his heart was to follow in the footsteps of Valen!"  
  
"So your obligation to him was?" Sinclair asked, moving towards the clearly upset Colithian.  
  
"A long close friendship," Delenn admitted. " Nothing more nothing less."  
  
"So why cause all this trouble?" Harrington asked.  
  
"He once told me that if he died in battle, that he wanted a simple funeral. He did not want to become a symbol of war." The Minbari moved away slightly. "But then the Star Riders subverted his wishes by this display of his body. I decided to honour his wishes, his ashes are to be sent home to be scattered in space near our homeworld."  
  
Delenn spun round to look at the small group. "Unfortunately you four have put that plan in jeopardy--"  
  
Cath suddenly moved forward, brushed past Garibaldi and pushed Delenn against the wall. "You fool, idiot!" she screamed in Minbari. "You should be the one called Cath'ha'hean, not me. Are you aware of the consequences of your stupidity? We nearly went to war - again!" She had moved so fast, the men were temporally paralysed.  
  
The Group Captain let go, and walked away. Folding her arms she turned and rounded on the tiny Minbari anew, but this time her eyes seemed to have glazed over slightly. "You are too young t'remember the slaughter last time we fought, but I'm not. I was in my thirties and commanding my own squadron at the time. And I remember - so did Lennon!  
  
Elizabeth was silent as we followed our destiny. It tore our souls apart, destroying us. Valen's Shadow Delenn, we were killing Valen's children in his name." The woman paused then went on, the distress clearly showing in her voice. "Those of us who survived to the end vowed never t'fight the Minbari again. And this time we would have had to choose sides - again. Don't you think once was enough?" With that Cath turned and almost ran out of the hanger. Sinclair went to Delenn's aid.  
  
Angry at what he'd just witnessed Tannia 7's Commander went after her. "And where are you going? Are you trying to start a diplomatic incident?" Harrington shouted.  
  
The Group Captain turned to face the human. "To call Command and have the Fleet stand down. They've been on a war footing ever since Delenn began this charade."  
  
"Don't you think you should come back and apologise at least!" The Human demanded, startled at the Colithian's words.   
  
They had reached a lift and Cath hit the open pad, obediently the door opened. Keeping her hand on the 'eye' she glared at Harrington. "I'm not a diplomat, never was. I'm trained as a Warrior. Sinclair's the diplomat round here, get him t'sort it out," she finished just as the doors shut on her.  
  
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Delenn bushed herself down, and gently pushed Sinclair away. "It was understandable that Cath should have reacted like that. It is my fault. I should have had more faith in her, and after all she is Valen's chosen. I did not confide in her when I should have and I did forge her signature."  
  
Harrington walked back into the hanger as Delenn went on. "I had hoped to pass this off as a true religious experience, but I have failed and it is worse than you think," the Minbari went on. " A rift has occurred between the Religious and the Warrior Castes. It began when the Warriors were ordered to surrender, eighteen months after the war between our people began. If what happened to Lennon's body was to become general knowledge then it would further the rift."  
  
"Ok so we go along with this idea," Garibaldi began, "but what about Neroon? We promised to tell him about what has happened."  
  
"Then we will do so. If you will honour my situation, then I will honour yours. It is regrettable but we must tell him the truth, but I will tell him my reason."  
  
"And Cath?" Sinclair asked. "What will she say?"  
  
"I will have words with her. I need to mend our friendship and restore her trust in me, or she may change her mind and not go through with the ceremony. But I also know she will go along with what I say if it will stop another war between our two people."  
  
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Neroon was pacing the floor with anger; Delenn was staring at the wall. "You had no right to touch the Anla shoc Na's body. He was Warrior Caste by right of his father--"  
  
"And Religious Caste by right of his mother," Delenn interrupted, "and you know that takes precedence."  
  
"Star Riders will protest about this, I will lead the fight myself." Neroon stormed about the room and glared daggers at the tiny Minbari.  
  
"You have had your 'Moment of Glory' as the Colithian's say. By bringing Lennon's body here and putting it on display, you were in effect insulting Valen's other chosen people, and you were using the Anla shoc Na's death to get at Catherine Meredith. It stops here Neroon." Delenn's voice became quite. "Protest and the Star Riders will be destroyed, disgraced and banished."  
  
"Is this your order, or that of the Grey Council?" Neroon's anger faded quickly at the Minbari's words, and a hint of respect crept into his voice.  
  
"Mine, but I also speak for the entire Grey Council. Your insistence of an investigation has left me no choice. You will agree with my statement that his body was transformed. That and you will apologise to both Lieutenant Commander Sinclair and Commander Harrington."  
  
"And the Group Captain?"  
  
"Only if you really mean it. The Colithian isn't stupid. She would rather have the truth from you than words of honey that mean nothing to soothe this situation."  
  
"Yes I understand Sati Delenn." He bowed "One more thing," The Warrior changed the subject. "Is it true Deathbringer's child is to become a Minbari?"  
  
"Yes she has agreed."  
  
"Delenn we have been close friends for too long to destroy our friendship so easily, but if you insist on allowing this blasphemy to go ahead, I fear our friendship must fall."  
  
"If that is all the thread of our friendship is based on, then so it must end," Delenn said bravely as Neroon left the room, but in her heart she was crying with grief.  
  
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"There was no cause for me to attack you Commander. There was even less cause to threaten this station. I am ashamed that by wishing to honour the Anla shoc Na I brought about dishonour to our people. Wishing to honour him lead me to act improperly. Again I'm sorry for attacking you Commander Harrington." His head was bowed in shame.  
  
"There is no dishonour in wanting to honour Lennon." Sinclair took over. "We both fought against the Minbari and we saw no dishonour in their actions. Since the Anla shoc's body has disappeared we feel some responsibility towards the Minbari people."  
  
"We Humans believe there is no higher testimony to a Warrior's courage and skill than praise from his enemy," Harrington pointed out. "We would like to send a message to the Minbari people, a personal message and a testimony to the bravery of the Anla shoc."  
  
"You would do that?" Neroon was amazed. "You will do this as an Earthforce officer?"  
  
"And as the Commander of Britannia 7!" Harrington finished.  
  
"That is a great kindness." That was the only word he could think of, and it made Neroon was even more ashamed of his recent actions.  
  
"We have fought long enough. Maybe it's time we started talking to one another," Sinclair went on." The Group Captain has told us that Lennon was a great Warrior. Let the Warrior Caste remember his battles, and let the rest of us remember what else he was, a man of peace"  
  
"You talk like a Minbari, Lieutenant Commander Sinclair. Maybe we were right to listen to the Colithians, when they told us to stop fighting your race. It seems there may have been some small reason for letting your species survive."  
  
"We like to think so!" Sinclair smiled, holding out his hand. Slowly Neroon took it, and shook it. He repeated the action with the other Human then bowed as a true Minbari Warrior should.  
  
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After seeing Neroon and explaining about the transformation, Delenn had sought out the Group Captain. Cath had been in a foul mood, but after the Minbari had apologized and almost begged forgiveness, the Group Captain had told her the truth. She would have to think very hard about her Is'til'za, even if that was what Valen had wanted. The tiny Minbari had reminded her about Lennon's letter and asked if her friend had read it. The words calmed the Colithian down a bit, with Cath admitting she hadn't but promised she would. Finally, reluctantly though, she followed Delenn to where the tiny Minbari had arranged a meeting between the Humans and Neroon.  
  
Now the men emerged to stand in front of her, having followed Neroon out of the room. The Minbari glided over to stand next to the Humans side.  
  
"What did Neroon say to you?" Delenn asked the two men.  
  
"He said that some of us appear to have Minbari souls," Sinclair replied. He turned to the Colithian, who was gazing out of the observation window apparently deep in thought. "What do you think Cath? Do some of us have Minbari souls?"  
  
Dragging herself back to the present the woman shrugged and began to walk away. "I thought we all had," she almost whispered, her voice too low for the others to hear. It was time to find a silent corner and read the letter Lennon had left her. Not only that, but the Colithian had to try and sort out her feeling towards the Minbari called Delenn. If the Minbari could keep this latest event a secret, what else was the Colithian not being told?  
  
Sinclair walked away and pondered on another task ahead. If Cath was to go through with this ceremony, then could he be strong enough to help her? He hoped he would be.  
  
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Talia nodded to the Colithian woman who it seemed was an Ambassadorial Aide, not that she was dressed as one would have expected an Aide to dress. Nothing regal like the Centauri, just a plain blue polo style top and grey trouser-suit. With her long brown hair tied up in a ponytail, the woman reminded the station telepath of the Colithian Security officer, Corinth Richards!  
  
But Alisa had asked to meet a Colithian representative and the Group Captain had insisted that the waif speak to this woman. This was where they had arranged to meet. Talia introduced the girl and watched Harrington moving to join them as arranged. He'd been interested in this meeting as well.  
  
"And what can you offer me that the Minbari can't?" the girl asked, once the pleasantries were over.  
  
"Nothing, except silence. Colithians are born with a mind shield, we call it a Cast. This stops us from being telepaths; it also means that nobody can read our minds either. At first we thought it a curse, now we see it as a blessing. If you come to our world, you will have silence as I say, but then your gift will not be trained properly." The Colithian glanced up at the Human telepath. "If you are as strong as Talia suspects, you may go mad, but you will not find peace." Sphere studied the waif for a moment. " It is said the best place t'hide a telepath is in a group of non-telepaths. On Colithia you will not only be well hidden, you will also be alone."  
  
"I've heard things about you, that you're a telepath as well."  
  
Sphere smiled and made herself a little more comfortable. "I am a Mayji, a See-er and Tell-er combined. There's nothing special about that, many of us posses one of the gifts to a certain extent. Some like myself posses both to a greater degree. I can 'Tell' into the future and 'See' what is going on. I may be able t'pick up your feelings and sense what you can see. I may even be able t'join you for a while t'follow you, but I'm not a telepath. I cannot read your mind as a telepath does, nor can you read mine."  
  
The girl stopped trying to probe for an opening in the Cast as soon as Sphere hinted she knew. She'd been intrigued by the woman's words and thought her probing was going undetected. But after all her hard work she'd only been able to find a wall, and no amount of scanning seemed to work. Embarrassed at first she moved to the attack.  
  
"I'm sorry."  
  
"You have the right to try, but you must understand we can tell when we are being probed."  
  
"So that's all you can offer, no money or statues or anything. What about my DNA? Don't you people want telepaths?"  
  
"To become true telepaths would require another change. It took us along time to get used to the last one," Sphere explained patiently.  
  
"I don't understand, what change?" Alisa sounded puzzled "  
  
"Once we were like your people in many ways, but then we left our homeworld in exile for our beliefs. Almost a thousand years ago, we settled on our new home and somehow on the journey we had changed." Sphere paused for a moment, as if thinking about what to say next. Satisfied with her own thoughts she carried on. "The first generation conceived on Colithia possessed gifts we couldn't understand. It has taken us along time to understand ourselves. Now we do understand ourselves and we are content. One of the first Mayji's, Elizabeth, was a great prophet who was able to help us to understand ourselves, and she guides us still."  
  
"How can she still guide you?"  
  
"It's no great secret. In a place called the Citadel, her prophecies are kept. We use them to guide us. She left us a legacy that all may study and understand. She, like Valen, shaped our culture. Elizabeth gave us guidelines to work with, and told us of the times ahead, so that we would at least be prepared for the future"  
  
"You are guided by a dead woman!"  
  
"I have read a lot about your Earth culture. In your history your people often chose to follow dead spiritual leaders, so what is the difference then? One whose death was long ago, or one whose essence is with us still?"  
  
Alisa sighed. She thought the Minbari's answer was a bit odd, but this was even stranger. Guided by a dead leader? This was too much for the waif. Looking up at Talia the child spoke. " I'm getting tired, but I think I've heard enough." To the Mayji she went on, "Thank you very much for speaking to me, and thank you for your help Commander Harrington." The Human nodded and the Mayji stood up as they watched the Station's telepath take the child back to her quarters.  
  
"Are you really aware of being scanned?" Harrington asked, intrigued at the new revelation. This was something Corinth didn't seen to want to talk about.  
  
"Yes," Sphere nodded. "She was causing a tingling sensation in my mind, the greater the probing the stronger the sensation." She stood up and looked at him, "Does Corinth ever suffer from migraines?"  
  
Harrington nodded. "Quite often, at least twice a week, more if she's under stress!"  
  
"You'll find that was caused by Psi Corp scans. They have scared her Cast. She must have been in agony at times."  
  
"How do you know what they did, and how she feels?"  
  
"Corinth and I are more than just sisters. There's only a months difference in our ages. I often felt her great love for you. She didn't reject you Tom, she saved you life." And with that the woman walked away towards the Colithian living quarters. He'd be returning in the next half-hour and she would have to meet him and set his destiny in motion.  
  
As Sphere mingled with the rest of the crowd, Harrington felt an arm slip around his waist, and a voice whispered seductively into his ear. "I've arranged to have the afternoon off. And I'm hungry - very, very, very hungry."  
  
"So what do you suggest?" Harrington asked, twisting his body round so he faced his fiancé.  
  
"How about desert, just like the old days."  
  
"And if I sat no?" the Human teased. He deliberately waited for a moment to see what Corinth was going to say, and watched her face fall. It was obvious she still wasn't certain if they were an item again. "Go on, get yourself ready. I'll get a bottle of wine before I join you."  
  
The Colithian's eyes lit up, love radiating from them as she nodded and kissed him lightly in the cheek. "And at least it's in normal gravity," she laughed, as she extracted herself from Harrington's embrace, before following her sister into the Zocalo's crowded floor.  
  
G'kar had been listening in on the conversation. Narn hearing was better than the Human's was, and he was trying to use that fact inconspicuously. Up to now he thought he'd got away with it.  
  
The Human also knew all about the Narn's hearing advantage, and had noticed the strategic position G'kar had taken up. He walked over to the Narn. "Ok - Ariel ears," he went on, "just what did you over hear?"  
  
"Your command of the Colithian language is commendable Commander. It appears having one of them as your mate is having an affect on you. You are picking up their language terminology, though not necessarily using it to its best advantage." He paused while he stood up, towering over the human commander. "The last thing your fiancé mentioned was about gravity. Does that mean that you have made love in Zero gravity?" The meaning of the couple's actions had not gone unnoticed with the Narn.  
  
"Yes once!" Harrington smiled slyly as the memory came flooding back. "And before you ask, it's very strange to say the least. Can be very frustrating, but in the end is very, very, very, satisfying."  
  
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Paul Bremner walked towards his living area. For the first time in a long time he would be returning to an empty home. Kate was dead and gone, and he was still trying to come to terms with her sacrifice. And he was still wondering if it was worth it!  
  
He opened the door and walked in. Instantly he knew someone was in the room. A candle was burning the light flickering on the walls of the room. He called for the lights to come on and revealed the meditating form of Sphere Richards. "Haven't you done enough to hurt me?" he screamed in disbelief.  
  
Sphere Richards opened her eyes and spoke, her voice calm and soft " Will you enter the Starfire Chamber with Valen and take his place?"  
  
"What!" This was unbelievable, his wife had given her life for this woman who had just broken into his home, and was now asking him senseless questions!  
  
"Will you enter the Starfire chamber with Valen and take his place?" The woman had stood up by now and was facing him. Her dark hair was loose and held in place by a Colithian headband, giving her a slight Minbari look. "The question is a simple one if your heart and soul speak the truth," she finished.  
  
How dare you come into my quarters and ask senseless questions as if nothing happened between us. My wife is dead because of you--"  
  
"I know that, but so did Kate. It was her Is'til'za, her reason for living. But I also know why she did it, and what she saw about your future."  
  
"What do you mean by that?" He was calming down now as some of his wife's last words surfaced in his mind.  
  
"For a moment we met, mingled, became one and shared memories; thoughts and ideas. Kate told me everything; I know what she foretold. I am here to seek out the truth. She said she would wait for you." The Mayji paused to let her words sink into Paul Bremner's mind. Satisfied with Bremner's reaction she went on. " Now will you answer my question or not."  
  
"Can I have time to think about it?" He had already guessed what Sphere Richards was, and he knew he should be honoured she was asking taking an interest on his life.   
  
"Look into your soul and seek out the answer. You are stronger than you think. Kate saw that. She wasn't mocking you when she said she saw you as one of the Twelve. "Sphere paused for a moment." If you find the answer then you will know where I am. Remember though, time is not infinite when the shadows fall."  
  
Paul Bremner was getting more confused by the minute. He needed to think about what was being asked of him, if it was 'what' was being asked of him, and one thing kept nagging him. Finally he spoke "Did you have to give an answer to a question?" he asked as Sphere walked towards the door.  
  
The woman turned and faced him. "I was asked if I would follow the One to the end of his time and keep him safe."  
  
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Corinth was in the shower when Harrington got back to his quarters, the candle's light flickering off the walls. He put the wine in the fridge and sorted out some classical music. Satisfied everything was in order he made his way to the bedroom where he found Corinth meditating naked on the bed.  
  
"Lie down and I'll give you a massage," he ordered softly and waited while his fiancé lay down on her stomach. He slowly began to rub the oil into her shoulders and neck, feeling the familiar scars in the muscles under the repaired skin, confirming the trauma the Colithian must have gone though.  
  
He changed to feather light movements as he moved down her back to her waist. As he moved down his hands gently over her body he remembered what Sphere had said. "Sphere told me all about your scared Cast. I'm sorry about it, why didn't you tell me?" Then he remembered something else the Mayji had said. "And why did you send me away when I visited you."  
  
"Because you were babbling on so much you were condemning yourself, as well as me. You could have got yourself shot if I hadn't intervened," Corinth twisted round, pushing Harrington away while she sat up. " It's called the soft touch, only you didn't recognize the technique, but I did, just in time." Corinth looked at a bewildered Harrington. "The idea is you send someone into the cell who the prisoner knows, and get them t'talk in general conversation. Simple but deadly. I had t'get you out of the camp as fast as I could, and running away as I did was the quickest way I could think of." The woman began to get up, she was clearly angry at the line of questions. "And if I wanted t'be interrogated again I'll ask."  
  
Harrington pushed her back into the bed, her body yielded to the pressure as he rolled her back on to her chest. "Look, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to pry, and I certainly didn't mean to get you angry." He began to move his hands down her back again. "Anyway I thought we were having desert, and not talking about interrogation techniques." He smiled as he felt Corinth's body begin to tremble slightly, and the human knew he was forgiven.  
  
Two helpings of desert later, Harrington slipped out of bed and ordered a 'chicken in a basket' take-away. Corinth slipped a thin dressing gown over her body and joined him, settling her self down in his arms.  
  
"How about setting a date for our wedding?" he suggested. Corinth laughed then lapsed into silence. The Human knew his fiancé was deep in thought. Something was troubling her and he wondered if it was anything to do with their relationship.  
  
Finally she spoke. "How about next August?"  
  
"Next month? Bit soon isn't it!" Then he remembered something. "Hang on. August was last month by your calendar wasn't it?" The Colithian nodded." Do we have to wait almost a whole year?"  
  
"Our year has twelve months like yours, but we only have twenty nine days in a month," she pointed out, "so it's actually shorter."  
  
"Yes but the days are longer remember, thirty six hours and five minutes--"  
  
"Which we move forward an hour every twelve days. Come on Tom, you asked and I answered." Sitting up and accepting the offered wineglass, the Colithian lapsed into silence again. After a while she stood up. Harrington watched with interest, this was Corinth's way of saying she was about to say something important.  
  
"I love you," she began. "I liked you when we first met, but before the Trade War was over, I found that I loved you. It wasn't just because of the Court Marshall I stayed behind, but because I wanted to stay with you!" Choosing her words carefully the woman went on. "The Minbari have a renewal ceremony which we Colithians often use. But there is another ceremony, one in which we come to terms with things that have happened, and try to understand the repercussions of what happened in the past. It is called Understanding and Acceptance. I would like us to go though the Ta'vamal'za as it is called by us. The Religious have another name for it. But I need to tell you things and you need to hear what I went through. Call it a security blanket if you want, but I can't do it any other way, I need--."  
  
Harrington had already stood up and moved to her side. He faced her putting one arm around her waist the other hand he used to lift her face up so their eyes made contact. "Shush honey! If you want to do it this way it's alright by me, just tell me what to do."  
  
"You mean it?" From her tone she wasn't sure if her fiancé was joking.  
  
"Corinth honey, if I split up from you, I feel I'll be throwing away ten years of my life. Ten years is a long time to a Human, even if it's not to a Colithian. I don't want us to part because of a misunderstanding. Too many bad things have occurred because of misunderstandings in the last fifteen years, to both of us. I want us to be together, That's why I've just asked you to set a wedding date."  
  
"You really mean that!" the Colithian was smiling, relief showing clearly in her eyes.  
  
"In Valen's name," he smiled, "I will follow you though - what is it you say - fire, storm, darkness and death. Just so long as we can be together. See you've got me speaking like you. Which reminds me how about another helping of desert?"  
  
  
End of the third story.  
  



End file.
